CompTIA: Organizations View IoT as a Source of Both Savings and Additional Revenue

The Internet of Things has the potential to deliver cost savings and generate new revenues for organizations that can handle IoT’s complexity, build new workforce skills and address heightened security demands, according to a new report by CompTIA, a technology trade association based in suburban Chicago.

According to “2019 Trends in Internet of Things,” which is based on a survey of 500 U.S.-based companies, organizations were fairly evenly split when asked about the potential financial impact of IoT. About 35 percent see IoT as primarily a way to save costs, while 31 percent see it as a revenue-generator. The remaining firms expect to see a mix of cost savings and new revenue.

Potential sources of new revenue could include increased production, monetizing data or creating product-as-a-service offerings.

“This recognition that IoT is not simply a tool for cost savings, but a potential source of new revenue, is mirrored by our finding that for a majority of companies funding for IoT projects often comes from places other than the IT department,” said Seth Robinson, senior director for technology analysis at CompTIA. “This demonstrates not only the importance of IoT to future strategy, but the company-wide impact IoT tends to have.”

As relates to return on investment, nearly six in 10 say it is very difficult or moderately difficult to make the ROI calculation; 43 percent say upfront costs are a major hurdle; and 34 percent cite ongoing costs as an issue.

Beyond the emergence of new job roles such as IoT architects and IoT security specialists, companies often need to upgrade existing technology skills in cloud computing, networking and security. Six in 10 respondents said cybersecurity should be the priority in IoT deployments, while 24 percent said they would prioritize innovation over security.

Data management and analysis, networking, device support, cloud computing and artificial intelligence are also viewed as skills critical to IoT success.

Channel Impact^®
The channel is advised to encourage clients to evaluate investments based on a growth mindset, looking at the overall return for the business. But the move requires a high level of expertise, given the variety of technology and business skills involved.